


The Rabbit Jinx

by GingerFerret



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Beginnings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 14:02:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12459288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerFerret/pseuds/GingerFerret
Summary: When Draco is hit by a jinx, Harry is forced to see him in a different light.





	The Rabbit Jinx

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fluffy little fic that I hope will make you smile a bit :) Let me know what you think :)

It happened on a Tuesday in the entrance hall right after lunch. A Hufflepuff Fifth Year made his way through the crowd, wand in hand, yelling: "You Death Eater scum!", while shivering like a leaf. Harry watched as Malfoy turned around, brow crinkling and hand going for his wand, but still hesitant. To be fair, it was a rather confusing spectacle - the boy seeming more scared than aggressive, but the outburst hostile enough to raise concern. 

For a few seconds, nothing happened. The Slytherins flanking Malfoy smirked and looked amused. Someone in the crowd snickered. The Hufflepuff's face took on a look of dangerous determination, and in the blink of an eye, he had murmured something under his breath and cast a spell directly at Malfoy. 

A collective gasp sounded from the crowd, and Harry raised his own wand. But nothing further happened. The spell didn't seem to have any immediate effect. Malfoy did look a bit paler than usual, but that was probably due to the situation itself. Five silent seconds ticked by. Then Pansy screamed at Draco's side and tried to cover his mouth with her hands. The cry and the movement made everyone look - and she just wasn't fast enough. 

It started with a few giggles from the closest bystanders, but in a matter of seconds, the entrance hall roared with laughter. Even Harry had to bite down hard on his bottom lip to prevent himself from snorting out loud. It was impossible to look away, as Malfoy's eyes widened comically with the realization that his upper front teeth were growing slowly but steadily, until they stuck out enough to almost reach his pointy chin. 

As the blond Slytherin sprinted towards the Eighth Year tower with both hands covering his mouth, a wildly screaming Pansy right behind him, Harry gave in and let the mirth in his belly bubble up and out, until tears rolled down his cheeks and his stomach hurt. 

 

\---

 

While Malfoy spent the rest of the day in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey and a select group of professors, the whole school echoed with giggles and whispers about what had happened to the resident ex-Death Eater. Hermione had laughed despite herself, when Harry and Ron had told her about the incident, before giving them both a half-hearted lecture about forgiving and moving on from the trespasses of war. It had been a bit difficult to take her seriously, considering the way the corners of her mouth kept twitching. 

After dinner, when the trio sat at their usual spot in the Eighth Year common room, Malfoy walked in surrounded by the small group of Slytherins that had returned to Hogwarts after the war. Pansy clung to his arm, while Malfoy himself kept the lower part of his face buried in the green and silver scarf he had wound around his neck. They all went straight for the stairs that led to the dormitories. 

Ron sniggered with obvious glee. "I guess Pomfrey and the professors weren't able to sort him out." Harry couldn't help but laugh, and even Hermione seemed to have trouble holding back a giggle. 

While Malfoy had, admittedly, been less of an arsehole since the start of term, he still wasn't Harry's cup of tea. Still too much of a snooty git and naturally prone to sarcastic comments where they were not desired. He left Harry and his friends alone, which was a welcome change, if a bit confusing. Harry sort of missed the arguments the two of them would get into, where the insults flew, unchecked and vicious, though he would never admit that to anyone but himself. If anything, the changes he felt in himself, regarding acts committed during the war, made him more susceptible to the changes in people around him. Which, of course, included Malfoy. 

The Slytherin had been far more subdued than Harry had ever seen him before (if only by Malfoy standards, which still made vast room for improvement). This told Harry that the blond felt the responsibility of his own actions during the war. Even if Harry read too much into it, the changes in his behavior made Harry regard him in a slightly friendlier light. But still, having his former rival roam the castle with front teeth worthy of a very proud rabbit, was too good not to enjoy. 

 

\---

The next day, Malfoy was absent from breakfast in the Great Hall. The Eighth Years shared a short table at the far end of the hall, and Malfoy's blond head was nowhere to be seen. Apparently the tooth-situation had yet to be resolved. Harry giggled inwardly at the thought. 

As Professor Slughorn entered the Potions classroom from his office, Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye how Malfoy scurried across the floor and sat down beside Pansy, who immediately slung a protective arm over his shoulder. The boy shrugged it off irritably. His face was still tucked into his scarf all the way up to his eyes. A few people snickered, and the top of Malfoy's ears turned pink. The professor cleared his throat and the class went silent. 

"Yes, yes, I suppose some of you find Mr Malfoy's predicament quite amusing, but let's be good sports now and all get along, yes?" Professor Slughorn patted his impressive belly and shot a furtive glance at Malfoy, whose ears had now turned bright red. Harry couldn't help but feel a tiny bit sorry for the git. 

They all set about preparing the potion of the week, and for a while, Harry even forgot that, only a few feet away, Malfoy's front teeth were still at least four times longer than usual. He probably wouldn't have thought about it at all for the rest of the double lesson, if it hadn't been for Pansy and her shriek of horror, as she discovered that one of the ingredients of their potion was freshly sliced carrot. 

As it were, Harry, along with every other student in the room, turned to look at the girl who just stood there with a carrot in her hand, staring at Malfoy with wild eyes. Malfoy, on his part, had dropped the scarf below his chin, apparently to be able to work unobstructed. He looked very annoyed. 

"Yef, very amufing, Panfy!", Malfoy whistled. His face turned a vivid pink from what looked like a mixture of anger and mortification, ostensibly brought on by the sounds coming from his own mouth. Harry had to bite his tongue hard to stifle a laugh. Few of his classmates extended such courtesy towards the blond, as the room exploded with laughter. 

Malfoy's face disappeared into his scarf for a minute. Harry observed him, as his eyes took on a determined light, and then his face popped up again. His long, elegant hands slowly unwound the scarf and placed it on a stool. He then proceeded to look at each and every one of his fellow Eighth Years, chin held high, proudly displaying his new teeth. The silence that followed was profound. Then he grabbed the carrot, still held high by a stunned Pansy, and proceeded to slice it with great care. 

Harry felt a surge of pride. Malfoy had stood up for himself in the face of ridicule - something he feared more than most. But not only that: he had done it without retaliation or comment. Harry's heart beat a little faster as he kept watching Malfoy work. The other boy must have felt his gaze, because he lifted his head and looked Harry straight in the eyes. Harry smiled slightly and nodded once, hoping the gesture was sufficient to convey the admiration he felt for Malfoy in that moment. Apparently, it was. Malfoy's eyes widened and his lips curved upwards a little around his giant front teeth. 

Harry didn't think he had ever seen anything quite as adorable. 

 

\---

 

It took three days for Malfoy's teeth to go back to normal. Three days, where he and Harry exchanged small smiles and subtle waves whenever their paths crossed. Three days, that made it very clear to Harry that the way he felt about Malfoy had changed more than he thought. The way Malfoy handled himself when someone taunted him, made Harry's heart swell with pride and...something else. His small smiles and steady gaze made Harry a bit weak in the knees, if he was perfectly honest. The most surprising thing was that this new development didn't bother him in the slightest. 

The length of Malfoy's teeth shortened gradually. Late Thursday evening, when Harry was studying by himself in a corner of the Eighth Year common room, he was not-quite surprised to find Malfoy approaching to sit down next to him on the sofa. When Harry looked up at him, he saw that his teeth were only twice their normal length, and he looked so cute that Harry almost reached out and touched his cheek. Instead, he closed the book he was holding and waited for Malfoy to speak. 

The blond cleared his throat, cheeks slightly pink. He looked at Harry and bit his lip, and the sight made Harry giddy in a way he had never been before. Malfoy looked so bloody sweet that Harry had to sit on his hands to prevent them from reaching out and _touch_. Malfoy cleared his throat again. 

"I, ah... I just wanted to thank you..for the way you've been handling this... _situation_." He gestured at his mouth, and Harry noticed that the lisp had disappeared. He smiled at Malfoy. 

"Well, I haven't really done anything? I mean, you handled the whole thing pretty well by yourself." Harry felt his cheeks go warm, but he kept looking Malfoy in the eyes. The Slytherin bit his lip again, and Harry groaned internally. 

"You must know that having you on my side - and so obviously as well - has undoubtedly made this whole debacle bearable, in stead of it turning into a living hell for me. And for that, Potter, I am grateful."

Harry wanted to protest. He hadn't done anything apart from smiling and waving. But Malfoy interrupted him with a hand on his arm, sending waves of warmth through Harry's entire being. 

"Just...allow me to extend my gratitude. It was unexpected and seriously undeserved, and I want you to know that I appreciate it. Probably more than you will ever understand." For a moment, he looked as if he wanted to say something else, but then decided not to. He gave Harry a slight smile and squeezed his arm gently, before getting up and heading for the dormitories. 

Harry sat for a while, letting the enormity of his newest realization sink in: he, Harry Potter, was smitten with Draco Malfoy. 

 

\---

 

"Hello Potter."

Harry turned halfway around to let Malfoy catch up to him. He smiled at the blond, and they walked side by side along the edge of the forest. 

"So, have you seen?" Malfoy bared his teeth, making him look a bit like a maniac, and Harry couldn't help but laugh. 

"Yes, Malfoy, I _have_ seen your teeth. I saw them yesterday, when you smiled charmingly at me throughout the entirety of our double Transfiguration lesson. And I saw them several times at lunch, when you kept throwing bread pellets at me to get my attention and flash your teeth. _And_ I even saw them this morning, as you put your fingers in your mouth to widen your smile."

Malfoy looked very satisfied. "So, what do you think?" 

Harry looked at him and felt his heart flutter in that special way reserved for the blond, and decided to be completely honest. He bit his lip and held that grey gaze. 

"I think you look absolutely gorgeous." 

There were a few seconds of stunned silence. Then Malfoy reached out and took Harry's hand in his own. A pink flush crept up on both boys' cheeks, and their eyes sparkled with equal measures of happiness, as they continued walking along the gravel path, hand in hand. 

 

**End**


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